All garbage bags will soon require a bag tag again to be picked up in Owen Sound.
Council voted Monday to end May 19 a temporary relaxation of the city’s mandatory bag tag policy, put in place in mid-March to encourage social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dennis Kefalas, director of public works and engineering, said the city anticipates it will have lost about $100,000 in bag tag revenue – about $30,000 a month – by June 30 as a result of the pandemic.
He said the relaxation of the bag tag rules has been abused by some people who have repeatedly left garbage bags at the curb without tags or put more than the maximum of four bags out on collection day.
“We’ve also noticed a significant increase in tipping fees associated with residents putting out larger amounts of garbage, thus increasing the hardship on the city. This has raised concerns on how much longer the city could continue to waive bag tag fees,” Kefalas told council.
On March 18, the city advised residents that if they ran out of bag tags, they could still put their untagged bags at the curb and its contractor Miller Waste would pick them up.
Kefalas said that temporary policy was approved so residents wouldn’t have to make a special trip to buy tags and potentially increase their risk of contracting COVID-19. City facilities, like the Owen Sound & North Grey Union Public Library, public works building and city hall, where bags tags are normally available for purchase, had also been closed to the public.
Kefalas said all 10 private retailers that sell city bag tags, along with the transit terminal, are open to the public and are now offering options to reduce social contact, such as home delivery, online orders, curbside pickup and in-store physical distancing and other safety measures.
“Mechanisms are in place to allow residents to obtain and purchase bag tags safely,” he said.
Garbage bags without a tag and bags in excess of four per home will not be picked up starting May 19.
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CITY REDUCES ATTACK LEASE FOR SEASON
The city has agreed to cut the lease payment paid by the Owen Sound Attack for 2019/20 by $6,882 due to the team having to cancel its last three regular-season home games as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Ontario Hockey League club paid Owen Sound just over $90,000 last year under its lease agreement to use the city-owned Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre. That amount included a base lease of $76,874.
A report to council from city manager Wayne Ritchie says the Attack lost the opportunity to generate revenue from the remaining three regular-season home games, which represents about 8.8 per cent of the total regular season.
Council approved Ritchie’s recommendation to reduce the base lease by 8.8 per cent.
The OHL paused and then cancelled the remainder of the 2019/20 regular season March 18 due to the pandemic, eliminating the Attack’s gate and concession revenue for the final three home games.
Owen Sound closed the Lumley-Bayshore to the public March 13, before the province ordered all non-essential businesses to close March 23 and prohibited organized public events of more than five people March 28.
The city was contacted March 30 by Grey Bruce Health Services president and CEO Gary Sims to discuss the possibility of GBHS using the Lumley-Bayshore as a temporary field hospital. Work on the 75-bed facility began April 2 on the arena floor and wrapped up in mid-April.
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COUNCIL OKs ELECTRONIC COMMITTEE MEETINGS
City committee meetings can now be held electronically in Owen Sound when an emergency has been declared.
Council has approved an amendment to the city’s procedural bylaw to allow for electronic participation in meetings of committees.
The Ontario government, through the Municipal Emergencies Act, has provided for an expansion of electronic municipal meetings during periods in which an emergency has been declared by the municipality or province, according to a report from city clerk Briana Bloomfield.
The province declared a state of emergency due to COVID-19 March 17 and the city made its own declaration March 27.
Council approved an amendment to the city’s procedural bylaw March 25 to permit council to meet electronically during emergencies and granted another amendment April 27 to allow local boards to meet electronically during those times.
The city’s operations, community services and corporate services committees have not met since the COVID-19 state of emergency was declared.
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NEW STOP SIGN
All vehicles that approach the intersection of 8th Street and 3rd Avenue West are now required to stop.
The city has installed a new stop sign for westbound traffic on 8th Street West to improve safety at the T-junction.
“All way” tab signs have also been installed below each of the stop signs, while “stop ahead” and “new” signs have also gone up to alert drivers of the new stop sign.
The city says later this year, workers will improve the paint markings for the pedestrian crosswalk.
Council approved the traffic rule change in February.
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COMPOST SITE CLOSED MONDAY
Owen Sound’s leaf and yard waste composting site will be closed Monday because of the Victoria Day holiday.
It will reopen Tuesday at 8 a.m.
Due to COVID-19, a maximum of 15 vehicles are permitted at the site at one time. The facility remains open Monday to Saturday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and is closed Sundays.
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